Every Christian has Third John in their Bible, yet no Greek manuscript of it survives from before the fourth century, while the Shepherd of Hermas, which nobody includes, has better early manuscript support than any New Testament book except Matthew and John. This first part shows why lining up Church Fathers, manuscripts, and St. Jerome can never settle the canon debate for Catholics or Protestants, and why we need a criterion that is sufficient in itself and within reach of all the faithful. We then test the candidates one by one, from the internal qualities of the books to apostolic authorship, the testimony of Scripture, the historical record, and the inward witness of the Spirit, and see why each one falls short.

Substack referenced: https://open.substack.com/pub/scholasticanswers/p/when-the-magisterium-forgets-doctrines?r=7nkkp&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MilitantThomist
Substack: https://substack.com/@scholasticanswers

Contents:
00:00 - Intro
08:14 - What Is a Criterion of Canonicity?
11:13 - Sufficient in Itself vs. Sufficient for Us
13:33 - Universal, Internal, and Sufficient Criteria
17:34 - Why Style and Doctrine Prove Nothing
19:56 - Does Apostolic Authorship Make a Book Scripture?
23:51 - The Testimony of Scripture
24:42 - The Historical Record
25:19 - The Inward Witness of the Spirit
28:28 - Outro

#CanonOfScripture #StJerome #CatholicApologetics